{"id":4960,"date":"2020-06-27T08:01:00","date_gmt":"2020-06-27T06:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/waltin.se\/josefinwaltinspinner\/?p=4960"},"modified":"2020-06-27T08:01:03","modified_gmt":"2020-06-27T06:01:03","slug":"camera-strap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/waltin.se\/josefinwaltinspinner\/camera-strap\/","title":{"rendered":"Camera strap"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

During a few weeks this spring I have been secretly weaving a camera strap for my husband Dan. He takes all the photos for my magazine articles and a lot of photos for my blog. His birthday was this week and I was finally able to give it to him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Dan
Dan is test shooting with his new camera strap.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For his birthday last year I wanted to get him a camera strap from Textiles Cusco<\/a>, a cooperative of Peruvian weavers that I support. In the end it didn’t work out since I didn’t have the credit card type they accepted. Little did I know then that I would fall into the backstrap weaving rabbit hole before his birthday this year!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The yarns<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In the online course in backstrap weaving<\/a> I took this spring I totally failed the pebble weave pick-up pattern module. My yarn was way too loosely spun and in colours with too little contrast. I wanted to make up for my questionable decisions and weave a strap in a pick-up pattern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For this project I chose the white and blue yarns I used for the weaving bag<\/a> I had just finished. I did run the yarns through the spinning wheel again, though, to give them some more twist. In the balanced weave they had been a bit fuzzy and a higher twist would make them stronger, especially considering they would be in a tight warp-faced project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The participating hand spun yarns in the camera strap.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For the kind of pick-up technique I chose it is a good idea to use three colours \u2013 two with high contrast for the pick-up pattern and a third for the edges. The black yarn I chose for the edges comes from a sample bag of a Gotland\/finull cross that I got from a shepherdess recently. I tried to prepare and spin it in the same way I had spun the white and blue yarns \u2013 hand combed and worsted spun on a spinning wheel and 2-plied with some extra twist. The black yarn turned out a little less elastic though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The weaving<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The strap was only 65 cm long and 4 cm wide, so even if pick-up patterns take time it would still be doable before his birthday. I bought an ebook for a different kind of two-faced pick-up pattern by Laverne Waddington<\/a>. I wanted the pattern I loved the most and not necessarily the one that was the easiest. In the end I chose one with heart shapes over 16 warp pairs and 32 rows. A lot to keep track of, but I pinned the pattern onto the warp for easy access.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A lovely heart-shaped pattern over the stretch of the camera strap.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Pick-up pattern<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In this kind of pick-up pattern you work with warp pairs with one thread of each colour in every pair. When warping for the pick-up part you warp with one colour in the top and one in the bottom. This is to keep track of the colours and pairs. In the pattern you pick up one thread for each pair every row. This results in a pattern that is inverted on the “wrong” side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Picking up the warp threads for the pick-up pattern. I need to pick up each individual warp thread in a new combination every row for the 32 row repeat. The heddle yarn in the top of the picture is my handspun and cable plied in Gute lamb’s wool.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I use a stick to pick up my warp threads with. In the picture above the blue warp threads are on top. Picking up the blue threads is no problem. When I need to pick up a white thread I need to pick up this from the bottom (white) layer and make sure I don’t pick up the blue thread in that pair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The camera strap takes shape in the Stockholm spring sun. In the picture I have picked up all the warp threads for the row and inserted the batten in the new shed, ready to beat.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When I have finished picking up the row I place my batten in the picked-up shed and beat. Next row I pick up a new set of warp threads for a new shed. When I have picked up all the rows in the 32 row pattern I start from the beginning again. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I really loved this technique and I will do it again. It doesn’t take much yarn, but the result is so lovely and the fact that I made it makes me all giddy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Narrow strap<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The strap with the pick-up pattern is the part that goes over the shoulder of the photographer. I also needed to make a narrower strap to fasten to the camera. This was just a plain 1 cm wide warp-faced band. I used a band lock instead of the front beam and I didn’t bother with a stick for the heddles. Instead I used a piece of string to hold the heddles. To change the shed I simply lifted the heddles in the string loop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I used a band lock for the narrow band instead of the wider front loom bar. Also I used a piece of string to hold the heddles instead of a stick. The band lock is made in juniper wood and smells oh so lovely.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The camera strap<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Assembling the camera strap was a bit more of a challenge than I had expected. The original strap joined the wide and the narrow straps with a fake leather patch on both sides. I did the same, only with real leather. I used two waxed linen threads simultaneously for a double running stitch. The first strap join was really difficult and fiddly to make. I broke two needles and had sore fingers for a few days afterwards. The leather join looked really crooked and sad. For the other leather join I pre-punched the needle holes which made sewing a lot easier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"All
All assembled and ready to shoot!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I decided to pick up the first join and make it better, which was a good decision. I would have been annoyed with the crooked join if I hadn’t. The second time I could use the old needle holes and the sewing went much smoother.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The camera strap sits nicely over the shoulder.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The black edges of the strap are a bit wavy because the black yarn has less elasticity than the blue yarn. But it isn’t a problem, it just adds to the hand made feeling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Test
Test shooting some grass in the evening light.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I really loved making these straps. The pattern took a long time but the result is so lovely. And making the narrower strap felt surprisingly good. I enjoyed having the knowledge to weave the band so narrow. The yarns worked very well in the project, especially since I had added extra twist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dan loves his new camera strap. Last night he went out for a photo shoot \u2013 grass in backlight \u2013 and it went so much better than with the original camera strap. Fancy that!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Happy spinning!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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